Ukraine to replace defense minister amid counteroffensive

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced late Sunday that he will replace the country’s defense minister, even as Kyiv’s counteroffensive appears to be gaining ground with its troops pushing into Russian-held territory.

The shift comes as the Ukrainian government has been moving aggressively to deal with corruption allegations involving military officials.

In a video message Sunday night, the Ukrainian leader announced that Oleksiy Reznikov would be replaced as defense chief by Rustem Umerov, the head of the country’s State Property Fund.

“Reznikov has gone through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” Zelenskyy said. “I believe the ministry now needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole.”

Zelenskyy called on the country’s parliament to approve the decision as soon as possible.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that Washington has seen signs that Ukraine’s counteroffensive is picking up pace. According to Kirby, officials have “noted over the last 72 hours or so some notable progress by Ukrainian armed forces,” particularly along the southern front in the region around Zaporizhzhia.